Black Roses
by Captain Alfie
Summary: In Lily Evans' 7th year at Hogwarts, someone starts to send her roses. Black roses, to be precise. He also starts to send her notes - but she still has no idea who he is. And how is she getting on with James Potter after their years of disagreement?
1. ONE Better than last time

_My first proper chapter fic! Don't worry, we're still working on 'A Week in the Notes of...' - this is just a project on the side (so don't expect updates as often D).  
Yeah, it's more Marauders stuff I'm afraid, so more stupid jokes to entertain Caketin and myself. I do have a reason for it being called Black Roses, but it probably won't become obvious until chapter 4/5 (not totally sure yet...). There are quite a few flashback at least at the start of this fic, so all of them are in italics. The summary doesn't really seem to fit the story so far (it does in my mind, but not what you're reading here at the moment) but it is coming - this bit comes first.  
Hope you enjoy it, and remember - I own nothing execpt my blue biro.  
--Aniimal_

**

* * *

Black Roses**

**CHAPTER ONE - BETTER THAN LAST TIME**

_"Run, Lily, run!" The shouts echoed around the frost-tinted courtyard; all eyes on the thirteen-year-old redhead running out of the open side-door. Her school bag was slipping off her shoulder and she seemed to be being followed by something. Some _things_ to be precise. They were creamish-yellow and fluttering in the air behind her. Every now and again one of them would catch her up and swoop around her, Lily trying in vain to bat them away with her hand._

_When she was about a third of the way across the courtyard, three boys stepped outside; wands raised and grin on their faces. It didn't take a genius to work out that it was them making the three parchment animals follow Lily Evans around, but their motives weren't so obvious. For one, the member of the group who was usually trying to talk to her - James Potter - was missing, and chasing her with parchment animals was never a good way of getting someone to talk to you, anyway. However, wherever Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were, you could be quite sure that James would not be too far away. Lily knew this, but she hadn't really been expecting what happened next._

_She had almost reached the door on the other side of the courtyard now, and she was so busy concentrating on the boys behind her that she failed to notice the figure in the doorway ahead. In fact, she did not register its existence until she had run straight into it._

_"Evans!" The figure spoke with an all too familiar voice, filled with mock surprise and self-pride that the plan was working. "Running into me like that, anyone would think you were pleased to see me."_

_Lily didn't need to see his face to know that he was smirking. "Shut up, Potter. I am most certainly not pleased to see you." Feeling pressure on her arm, Lily looked down to see his fingers encircling her wrist. "Let me go!" She tried to pull away, but he just tightened his grip._

_Behind Lily Remus, Peter and Sirius were heading towards James, who was currently grinning at them. Taking advantage of this moment of distraction, Lily kicked the boy in front of her as hard as she could. This unbalanced him so much that he fell: something Lily may have found slightly amusing had he not still been holding onto her wrist and therefore pulling her down with him. James jumped to his feet again immediately, grinning as if nothing had happened. Lily, however, stayed sitting on the floor, disgruntled and annoyed. When James noticed this, he held out a hand to help her up, hitching a charming smile onto his face. Unfortunately for him this didn't have the intended effect on her, and she scrambled to her feet ignoring his offered hand._

Now, almost four years later, Lily Evans was once again on the floor in the doorway. And once again James Potter was standing in front of her holding out his hand.

"Now then," he leaned forwards, trying to take her hand so he could help her up. "We can't have the head girl sitting on the floor, can we?"

"I didn't choose to be sitting her, Potter." She deliberately avoided his hand. "If you remember things for longer than thirty seconds you would know that it was you who knocked me over."

"You know it was an accident, Evans," his voice was almost pleading her for her forgiveness, even though there was still a grin on his face. "And you weren't exactly looking where you were going," he added.

"Doesn't mean you can go around knocking people over," she retaliated, finally giving in and accepting his help getting up.

James grinned. "Well, we're doing better than before," he commented. "Remember last time?"

Lily shook her head disapprovingly. "Which time are you thinking of, Potter?" she questioned. "You seem to delight in appearing from nowhere whenever I fall just so you can try and play the gentleman."

James' protest was exactly what she had expected. "I do not! I just happen to be there and feel I should help." He ignored her rolling her eyes at him and continued. "And I meant last time you walked into me here."

"When your friends were terrorizing me with flying parchment, you mean?" she smiled.

"I wouldn't say terrorizing… just a misguided attempt to entertain you."

"Oh yes, and how do you explain the smirking and the fact that it was obvious that you knew exactly when I was going to be there?" Lily folded her arms across her chest and smirked slightly. Oh she could play this game just as well as James could, if not better.

James shrugged. "I guess you got me," he grinned again.

"You're admitting it then? That you planned it all?" She was still smirking, watching his reaction carefully. She had no idea why she cared about something that had happened in third year, but maybe she just wanted to sort out the past before she thought about the future.

"If you put it like that then yes. I am admitting that when I was thirteen I plotted for you to run intro me." He was mirroring her smirk now. They both knew that their conversation was ridiculous, but they also both knew where it was leading. "Well… now we've sorted out the past, we can think about the present."

"The present where I am currently supposed to be tutoring third years in the library?" her tone had changed now; she knew exactly what was coming and she wanted to let him know that him admitting something he had done four years ago had not changed anything.

"If that's what you're supposed to be doing right now, then yes, that present." He ignored the fact that she had been hinting she didn't want to talk to him, and continued. "So, the reason I was looking for you-"

"You were looking for me?" she interrupted.

"Yes. Now why I was looking for you was because there's a Hogsmeade trip coming up, and I was wondering if-"

"No."

Damn. Well, he had tried. "Why not?"

"Because you're an idiot, Potter," She picked her bag up off the floor and slung it over her shoulder, ready to leave. "You're an arrogant idiot and I can't trust you not to make a stupid mistake."

And with that she pushed past him, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

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_So, tell me what you think?  
The other chapter are most likely going to be longer than this, and they're going to switch between different POVs rather than be like this one.  
Now... review review reveiw! Chapter two is about half properly written, although I doubt it will be up until I get back next Wednesday. Reviews will spur me to write more, though (:_


	2. TWO Stupid Mistakes

_So, chapter two has arrived. Thanks to Caketin for reading it through for me (PS it's actually 2.297 times longer than chapter one - yay for calculators, eh?) and thanks to superstarsvtn, HermioneGranger1971 and Padfoot7Prongs (and Caketin) for reviewing - I'm really glad you liked the first chapter and I hope you like this one as much. _

_I feel I should give a warning for a slightly OOC James in the first flashback, as I'm not sure everyone thinks of James in the same way I do... but you've gotta thank my dear Anna and Nen (and Sarah, without whom I would have no decent reaction from Lily in that part) for that ;D_

_I own nothing exept the spotty-dotty notebooks and clicky pens but I still want Jamesie. Read and Review, please =D_

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**CHAPTER TWO - STUPID MISTAKES**

And with that she pushed past him, quickly disappearing into the crowd. He was left standing in the doorway, the smile slipping off his face. He sighed and picked up his own bag. He didn't have anything to do right then: something he had quite been looking forward to, but now it was just more time to think about things he wanted to forget.

"_You're an arrogant idiot and I can't trust you not to make a stupid mistake."_

She was right, of course. He couldn't even trust himself not to make a stupid mistake. Merlin he had had his fair share in the past, but that made it all the more likely to happen again.

**a year earlier…**

_The rain lashed against the common room windows. Most of its occupants were chatting and laughing loudly, all warm and dry. Four of them, talking and laughing even louder than most, were huddled by the fire, dripping wet. They were probably the only four students who had braved the weather and Professor McGonagall had not been happy. Now with nothing to do, two of the four sixth years had turned their attention to homework, and the other two had occupied themselves with girls, one more reluctantly than the other. _

_Sirius Black felt no guilt flirting with almost every girl he met, but having asked Lily Evans out again that morning, James Potter wasn't as up for it as his friend. But, as Sirius had pointed out, Lily was in the library, and what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. And it wasn't like her and James were dating or anything; she would probably be happy that he wasn't bothering her for once. After that, James didn't need any more persuasion. _

_The broom closet door clicked shut, and they were plunged into darkness. A short conversation, a complaint of boredom and an offer for entertainment was all it had taken to get them this far - he had forgotten how easy it could be. Could be. It would never be that easy with Lily. That was a good thing, though. They would never really get anywhere if it only took him five minutes to get her into a broom closet. But for a random blonde, fifth year girl on a rainy Saturday afternoon, it was perfect. He needed something to take away the sting of Lily's rejection. It still hurt, even after so many times, not that he would ever admit it to anyone. He just played it cool and carried on, everyone knowing full well he would just try again. James Potter was never defeated. _

_He had, however, been turned down enough times to know that the best way to get his mind off one girl was to spend time with another. Somehow though, it didn't seem to be working as well as normal this time. He kept thinking of Lily's flame-red hair as he ran his fingers through the other girl's blonde waves, and when he noticed the lipstick smudges on his shirt, he couldn't help deciding that he preferred Lily's colour choices. Being there with the blonde girl – he thought her name was Jessie, but it might not have been – just made him realise how much he wanted Lily._

_He felt her stiffen slightly, and she pulled away from him, a concerned look on her face._

"_I heard someone," she whispered._

"_Shh," he put his finger to her lips and she giggled. "Maybe we should be getting back. To our own common room," he added, referring to the fact that she was in Ravenclaw, and therefore shouldn't have been in the Gryffindor common room in the first place._

_She nodded and reached out, wiping the lipstick smudges off James' cheek and neck. Then, once he was sure it wasn't totally obvious why he had been out of the common room, James pushed open the door. He wasn't surprised that the corridor wasn't completely empty, it was a Saturday afternoon, after all, and everyone was stuck inside due to the weather, but the girl who had just frozen on the spot only a few feet away was one he had hoped - for the first time in a few years, it seemed - not to see. Shit. Of all the people who could have been in the corridor, it had to be her. Emerald green eyes looked questioningly into hazel; while he mouthed obscenities and curses, she mouthed 'why?', and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. _

_He didn't know what to say. He didn't _have _anything to say. He couldn't apologise - it wouldn't make any sense, and he couldn't explain - basically because he had no idea what he would explain. 'Sirius made me and I was bored,' was definitely not going to explain to her why he had done it. She wouldn't understand how he felt. How it felt when the only girl you really liked seemed to hate you, but you felt bad every time you dated someone else. He hadn't had a proper girlfriend for a while now, but there had been plenty of encounters in broom closets and deserted corridors. Most of them after Lily had turned him down again. Not that she knew about it, really. Or she hadn't until today._

_They stood silently in the corridor for a moment or two more; tears now falling down her cheeks. Then, quite suddenly, she turned on her heel and ran down the corridor. James turned to watch her, silent at first, before he started to swear under his breath again. _

_He muttered a quick "Sorry," to the blonde girl before turning his attention completely to the redhead just rounding the corner. "Evans!" the shout made a pair of second years jump, but Lily ignored it. "Hey, Evans - wait up!"_

Needless to say she had completely ignored him for the next two days, and after that she spoke to him only if she needed to, building up the tension and silence until she couldn't keep it contained any longer.

"_Evans?"_

_The red-haired girl sat in the chair with her back to him, engrossed in her book and apparently oblivious to his presence._

"_Evans?"_

"_POTTER!" The sudden outburst made James take a step back. "LEAVE. ME. ALONE!" Her face was turning almost as red as her hair in anger, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying, but she still managed to be beautiful in his eyes._

"_But-"_

"_NO BUTS. LEAVE ME ALONE, POTTER! DON'T YOU HAVE SOME BLONDE GIRL TO SNOG OR SOMETHING?"_

_He dropped his head and looked awkwardly down at his shoes. "No," he muttered._

"_GOOD," her shouting was making people look at them now. A few were laughing, but most had pained expressions on their faces. They knew, if Lily didn't (although many suspected she did and she was enjoying it), how much she was hurting James. After all, they were the ones who had to listen to his grumblings afterwards. "'CAUSE YOU DON'T DESERVE IT, POTTER. YOU'RE A LYING, ARROGANT-"_

"_Good looking, talented guy?" Sirius had appeared behind James._

"_NO BLACK – HE'S NOT. SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" She sat down again and buried her head in her arms. Even James and Sirius could guess that she was crying. _

That had not been a good week for any of the Gryffindor sixth years. A sense of gloom hung over them all, as Lily's temper was time after time directed at James. She didn't want to listen to his explanations and apologies, and really he didn't blame her. Why should she? But it still sent him into a kind of depression, that spread to his friends when they realised they weren't going to get much out of him until it was had probably been James' worst stupid mistake, but it was far from the only one.

**September 1973…**

_A group of four boys stood talking in the corridor, discussing the teachers for the new subjects they were talking that year. _

"_So, James, you're opinion on the divination teacher?" _

"_What, Professor I-would-rather-be-a-fairy?" James grinned. "Insane – totally insane." He smirked and impersonated the teacher's airy fairy tones. "Look further! Broaden your minds!"_

_They all laughed and James gave a mock bow._

"_To true, to true," Sirius agreed. "And what about… aha!"_

_James turned to see what Sirius was looking at and grinned. "Snivellus," he said, softly; a wicked grin spreading across his face. _

_All four were looking over at the black haired boy with his arms full of books now; James and Sirius had almost identical grins on their faces, Peter was smirking slightly, but Remus was looking more worried and entertained. _

"_James, Evans is-" he started, but James had already acted. _

"_Wingardium Leviosa!" The books soared out of Snape's arms and soon they were suspended over her head. James, too busy quickly planning how best to taunt 'Snivellus', hadn't noticed the red haired girl standing at the other boy's shoulder. Previous encounters had already showed them that Lily Evans hated them teasing Snape, but even James' crush on the girl wasn't going to make them stop._

_James now held his wand up in front of him. He glanced back at his friends, taking in Sirius and Peter's approving nods, but not Remus' concerned and pointed look over at Lily. Grinning and turning back to Snape, James flicked his wand sharply downwards. The books dropped out of the air, hitting their owner on the head one at a time. _

_His stream of choice swearing was quickly drowned out by Sirius' barking laughter, quickly joined by James and Peter, and even Remus couldn't suppress a chuckle. The laughter, however, was soon drowned out by the shouts from Lily Evans._

"_POTTER!" She stepped in front of Snape, her face livid. "LEAVE HIM ALONE, FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!"_

_James' grin dropped slightly, but he was still smirking.. "Aw, c'mon Evans, it was only a bit of fun!"_

_She narrowed her eyes, her voice cold. "I don't like your idea of fun, Potter. You should really get a proper hobby."_

_James frowned slightly. "Like what?"_

"_Play chess, gobstones, cards: anything that doesn't involve taunting people! I would suggest quidditch, but I don't really need to. I'm still surprised your broom can get off the ground though, with your head on it." She turned around, her expression quickly changing to one of concern as she saw the look of pain on her friend's face. James could just hear her quietly asking "You okay, Sev?" _

_James turned back to his friends. "I have no idea what she sees in him… slimy, greasy git," his voice was full of hatred that his friends could only guess came from jealousy. Seeing Sirius' raised eyebrows, James punched his friend on the arm. "I meant Snivellus is a git, idiot. Not Evans."_

The attack on Snape itself was not really a stupid mistake – they were part of Snape, Lily and the Marauders'' everyday like whether they liked it or not by then – and everything probably would have been fine had James left it there. But, unsurprisingly really, James hadn't left it there.

_The four Marauders were crossing the lawn to their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson the next day when they saw Snape again. They had been debating what creatures they might be looking at in their first class (Sirius and James trying to convince Peter there would be a manticore for them to study while Remus took the more reasonable approach of "we'll start small – flobberworms or something") when Sirius suddenly stopped and fell silent. _

"_Oh, look who it is," he said loudly, his voice full of harsh amusement. "How're ya doing, Snivellus?"_

"_He can't be doing too well," James smirked, once again not noticing Lily Evans' presence. "His mother's forgotten to send the shampoo again." He grinned. He had been practicing the Jelly-legs jinx especially for the occasion, and was eager to show it off. He raised his wand, ready to cast the spell but then stopped._

_The exact moment James realised that Lily was there could be pinpointed at the moment that his smirk faltered and his arm dropped to his side. He quickly brushed this aside and spoke again, the tone of his voice now a far cry from the cold, harsh, sarcastic way he had talked to Snape. "Hey Evans," he smiled at her and ran his free hand through his hair, "fancy going to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday?"_

_The fury rose in Lily's face and she took a step towards him. "NO POTTER I BLOODY WELL DO NOT!" The girl's language gained her an approving grin from Sirius, who in turn received a glare from Lily and a kick from James. _

"_Encouraging her to shout at me isn't going to get us anywhere!" he hissed at his friend, scowling at Sirius' smirk. He smiled again as he turned back to Lily, acting as if her rejection hadn't affected him. "Ah, go on Evans. Surely you can ditch Snivellus just for one afternoon?"_

_Her eyes narrowed and when she spoke again her voice was a lot quieter than before. "How about no, Potter?" she suggested, her voice icy. "How about I tell you that I care more about my friends than arrogant bullies like you? Leave us alone." She turned her back on them and stalked off towards the waiting Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Snape by her side. _

"_Bad luck, mate," Remus put his hand on James' shoulder and steered him in the vague direction of the rest of the class, Peter and Sirius following closely behind. _

That experience had shown him that it was a bad idea to ask Lily out straight after or midway through taunting Snape, but James being James it hadn't stopped him from doing it again. And again. Looking back, it was no wonder she didn't like him. He sat down on a bench at the side of the courtyard, lost in his thoughts.

Had there ever been a time when he had asked Lily out in a sensible way? No, he didn't think so. Memories of his failed attempts flashed through his mind: memorising her timetable and planning to get her in a certain place at a certain time (the parchment animal incident a prime example), shouting across the potions classroom and being glared at by both Lily and Snape, trying and failing to show off in front of her and that sunny day in fifth year when he had helped bring Lily and Snape's friendship crashing down around their ears. He hadn't done too well so far (oh yes, understatement of the millennium), but he still felt that Lily was the only girl for him, and he wasn't going to give up. She would come round to his way of seeing things one day. At least he hoped she would.


	3. THREE Pink Surprises

_Oh yes, second chapter in three days! Don't get used to it, though - it won't happen often. A shorter chapter this time, but I think most of the other chapters will be around this length - the flashbacks made the other one longer.  
Thanks to Caketin for proofreading it for me, and superstarsvtn for reviewing (only one review D= I'm hoping for more this time... /unsubtlehint) This chapter is dedicated to my little sister, becuase we couldn't even spend a weekend together without arguing. You know where you are in here, little fish, so I don't really need to say anything more.  
I own nothing except the spotty dotty notebooks and clicky pens. Now onto the chapter..._

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**CHAPTER THREE - PINK SURPRISES **

And with that she pushed past him, quickly disappearing into the crowd. Lily let the flow of students around her pull her along, everyone except her knowing exactly where they were going. She hadn't exactly lied to James: she was supposed to be tutoring third years in the library, just not for another fifteen minutes. This meant she had ten minutes before she had to start off towards the library. Ten minutes alone with her own thoughts – a prospect she wouldn't have minded had her thoughts not been plagued by James Potter.

"_You're an arrogant idiot and I can't trust you not to make a stupid mistake."_

It was true – she couldn't. In fact anyone who thought they could trust James to go for a month without messing something up – be it a relationship, project or his chances with Lily – was, frankly, insane. From 'misguided attempts to entertain her' to asking her out straight after bullying her (then) best friend to walking out of a broom closet with another girl right in front of her, James had made every mistake in the book and more. He had also hexed a good percentage of the Hogwarts (mainly Slytherin, it had to be said) population and annoyed almost every teacher in the school with his numerous ridiculous pranks; yet he had still been made head boy.

Exactly why was a mystery to Lily and the other Hogwartians who knew James (which really accounted for all the other students) and even he had admitted he wasn't sure why Dumbledore had chosen him. Everyone had been very happy, but not too surprised, when Lily had arrived on the Hogwarts Express sporting the head girl badge, but for James there had been more than a few raised eyebrows and jokes that he had stolen it from Remus. However, it was James, and not Remus, who arrived in the prefects' compartment for the start-of-term meeting and who had his name announced at the feats, James who she would have to work with for the rest of the year.

Lily frowned slightly, shifting the weight of her bag on her shoulder before glancing at her watch. It was still only ten to three, which gave her five or so more free minutes, but she had nothing to do and there was no harm in being early.

She arrived in the Library with five minutes to spare, so she settled herself at a table and got out the textbooks and equipment that would need for the session. The three third years she had agreed to tutor were all eager to learn, she had been told. But for one reason or another they had all fallen behind on their transfiguration work. Transfiguration was, admittedly, more James' thing but she didn't want to put the younger students through the extra stress of James messing around or not turning up. When she had mentioned it to James, he had told her that he was already doing something on Wednesday afternoons, so he was glad that she had taken them on. He had said this with a kind of pride in his voice that made her wonder what exactly he was doing. Her first idea had been quidditch, but he couldn't have organised a quidditch practise when most of the team were still in class, so what was it?

She was soon pulled out of her thoughts when two thirds (or half if you counted Lily as well) of the tutor group arrived, explaining that Oliver was 'just talking to someone and would come very soon'. The two girls took seats across the table from Lily and chatted quietly whilst Lily watched the door, waiting for Oliver to arrive.

About two minutes later a small thirteen-year-old boy with mousy brown hair darted into the library. He looked around for a moment, spotted Lily and the two girls and made his way over. With all of their attention focused on Oliver, the entrance of a tall, black-haired boy with glasses went totally unnoticed to the three of them. Lily smiled at the three students now sat in front of her, opened the textbook and began to talk.

They had been going for just over ten minutes, and making extremely good progress, when Lily paused slightly, listening. There was giggling - a young girl from what Lily could tell - and an older, male voice coming from behind the bookcases to their left. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she wanted a change of scene from third-year transfiguration or just plain curiosity that made her do it, but Lily stood up and took the few steps around the bookcases, closely followed by the three curious thirteen-year-olds. The sight that met their eyes was not one that Lily would ever have put any money on seeing. James Potter was sitting at another table next to a tiny girl who couldn't have been older than eleven. Her wavy blonde hair was kept out of her eyes by a pink alice-band and there was a look of total concentration on her face. James' hands were on the tabletop, keeping a beetle under control while the girl poked at it gently with her wand-tip. There was already a small pile of buttons on the table, ranging from flattened, circular beetles, to buttons with legs, to almost perfect coat buttons. Both James' and the girl's faces broke into smiles, conveying the pride they both had in the perfect bright blue button that was now sitting on the desk. They looked up, and only then realised that they were being watched. James' smile turned into a beaming grin, and the first-year continued smiling shyly.

"Ah, Miss Evans," James grinned and winked at the third-years by her side, "fancy meeting you here."

She found herself smiling, almost impressed by him helping younger students. Of course he was supposed to be doing it anyway - it was part of his role as head boy - but so far James hadn't exactly accepted all of his responsibility.

"So this is why you couldn't take these three?" she gestured at the students she had been tutoring.

"Yup," he smiled at the girl next to him and glanced at Lily. "Elizabeth, this is Lily Evans, our amazing head girl," the blonde girl smiled at Lily and she smiled warmly back. She also cursed herself as she giggled slightly at James' compliment. He was just showing off, for Merlin's sake, but she knew that she had to stay friendly in front of the younger kids.

"And Miss Evans, this is Elizabeth James - the girl with the best surname out of the entire first year and soon to be Minnie's top student."

Lily smiled slightly but shook her head disapprovingly. "You shouldn't call her that in front of the younger students; you're setting a bad example. But nice to meet you, Elizabeth."

"I am most apologetic and I shall remember that for next time," James' mock formality made the younger girls giggle, and Lily watched curiously as he picked up his wand from the table. What was he planning now? He was probably going to show off some fancy trick and then ask her out in the hope that she wouldn't be able to turn him down in front of the younger kids. He could be so predictable - and so wrong.

James was grinning as he raised his wand, and Lily knew straight away that her suspicions were correct. But what hid fancy trick was, Lily didn't find out until it actually happened. Trust James to use non-verbal spells at every opportunity. He traced a complicated path in the air with his wand, and four of the buttons on the table suddenly turned into pink roses. Elizabeth and the two third-year girls gasped in amazement and Oliver nodded, impressed. James took the admiration in his stride and gave a rose to each of the three girls then nodded to Oliver, putting his hand in his pocket. He pulled out a chocolate frog and tossed it to the boy, who grinned and muttered his thanks.

Lily felt the corners of her mouth twitch slightly, but she stopped herself smiling. James had a way with the younger kids - a side of him she hadn't seen before - but letting him know would just help to inflate his already over-large ego. There was still one pink rose left on the table, but they all (even Elizabeth, judging by her slightly concerned look at James and then Lily) knew exactly where it was going.

He stood up, the smile he seemed to save just for her on his face and the rose in his hand. "Miss Evans," he started, handing the rose to her with a flourish and ignoring her rolling her eyes at him, "would you give me the pleasure of having you accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"Potter, now is not the time to discuss our personal lives, but to spare you asking me again - no. There are so many things I would rather spend my time doing." Her voice was colder, but she was still trying to sound professional - resisting the urge to call him an arrogant prat and tell him to stop showing off was difficult, but not impossible.

He put on an over-exaggerated 'sad' face, although his eyes were still smiling. "Ah, go on Evans," he said, dropping his formal tone. "Just one date?"

She frowned slightly. "First of all, I've already said now is not the time for this discussion and second the answer's still no and begging isn't going to get you anywhere." Her voice made it clear that the conversation was over, but just in case he decided to push her temper to the limit (something she really wasn't in the mood for just then) she turned her back on hi and gestured for Oliver and the two girls to follow her back to their studying.

* * *

The library was almost empty now - he was alone. Everyone was at dinner. He should have been, too, but he wasn't hungry. No, that was a lie, but dinner wouldn't satisfy him. He wanted something else.

He fiddled absent-mindedly with his wand - tracing patterns in the air. There were buttons left on the table. He pulled one towards him. It changed into a book, a lily, a quill; it changed faster and faster until a rose lay on the table. A black rose. He picked it and slipped it into his bag; a small smile played on his lips.

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End file.
